Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1698932434773.pdf (Namibia)
STATEMENT HON.

POHAMBA SHIFETA MINISTER OF ENVIRONMENT AND TOURISM, MP Tabling of the 2017/18 Annual Report of the Sustainable Development Advisory Council to the National Assembly Windhoek Honorable Speaker, Honorable Members I would like to thank you for the opportunity to present to this august house the 2017/18 annual report of the Sustainable Development Advisory Council.
The Sustainable Development Advisory Council was established in January 2013 in line with Section 6 of the Environmental Management Act, 2007 (Act No.

7 of 2007) .

Its main functions are to: 1.

Promote co-operation and co-ordination between all stakeholders on environmental issues relating to sustainable development; and 2.

Advise the Minister of Environment and Tourism on a wide range of environmental matters, with particular focus on legislation, policy and compliance measures.
My tabling of this annual report to this august house is in fulfilment of the requirement of Section 15 (4) of the Environmental Management Act of 2007 (Act NO.7 of 2007).

Honorable Speaker, The members of the Council are appointed by the Minister of Environment and Tourism, with four members representing the interests of the State and four members representing organizations, associations or institutions concerned with environmental matters.
The Environmental Commissioner is an ex-officio member of the Council.

Honorable Speaker, Please allow me to share with this august house some of the key achievements of the Council which are outlined in more detail in the Annual Report.
During the period under review, the Council provided guidance on the following environment-related legislation and policies - the amendment of the Environmental Management Act of 2007 and revision of its regulations, the Protected Areas and Wildlife Management Bill, the National Solid Waste Management Strategy and the introduction of a regulation for a levy on plastic bags.
recommendations for In line with its mandate to promote cooperation between all stakeholders, the Council hosted the 2nd edition of the Sustainable Development Awards in September 2017 in partnership with a broad range of sponsors.

The awards honored outstanding practices being undertaken by private sector companies, the Community-Based Organizations, media and youth groups.
tertiary institutions and individuals, The Council has identified the need for the production of regular State of information and to Environment reports to improve access to environmental communicate credible, timely and accessible information about the condition of the environment in its totality.

A review was carried out on the 2004 State of Environment Report and I am pleased to report that a draft new State of Environment Report is now available and is under consultation.
2 Other matters that came before the Council during the period under review were the need to coordinate the development of wind energy in the country, unsustainable mining of dimension stone and the need for a biological control programme for alien invasive species.

The main challenges facing the Sustainable Development Advisory Council include inadequate funding to undertake significant work that could contribute to the sustainable development agenda of the country.
For example the Council has identified the need to host annual conferences on different aspects of undertake Strategic Environmental and sustainable to Assessments of critical national issues such as the development of wind energy.

However it has been unable to mobilize the necessary funds to carry out such work.

Other challenges relate to the broad mandate and scope of inadequate staffing of the Secretariat and limited sustainable development, awareness of the Council among other stakeholders.
development Lastly Honorable Members, While the Council has made important strides, I would like for the Council to be more visible and for it to be more vocal to influence the national discourse on sustainable development.

With this in mind, I would hereby like to invite the Honorable Members and our Parliamentary Standing Committees to interact with the Council and to bring issues of concern to its attention.
You may contact my office directly to get in touch with them and the Council also has a dedicated website (www.sdacnamibia.org) with further information about its operations and an interactive platform for the public and other stakeholders to reach out to it.

With these few words, Honorable Speaker and Honorable Members, I thank you once again for the opportunity and hereby submit to you this annual report.

I thank you.

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